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Q.
I'll try to describe my house and problem the best I can...
I recently bought a row home which has a mudroom off of the kitchen in the
back. When you walk in the front door, you are on the first floor, with the
basement below you, however when you get to the back of the house, you are now
on the second floor. We have a walkout basement with a door to the backyard, so
when you come out of the basement, you are underneath the mudroom. The mudroom
is attached to the back of the house and sits on two metal stilts which support
the back corners. The problem is, I have noticed a massive amount of caulking
around the perimeter of the mudroom. In talking to neighbors I have found out
that a couple of these mudrooms have become separated from the other homes,
since they were not built to hold the load that we now put in there... right
now we have our refrigerator in there, as do many of my neighbors. What can we
do to repair this structure properly and ensure that it doesn't separate any
further than it possibly already has?
Would I have to hire a contractor for a job like this?
A.
Unfortunately, I would
need more information to adequately answer this question, but I can suggest
some things for you to investigate.
As you describe it, your home is built on a lot that slopes away from the front
of the house to the back. Any construction on a sloping lot needs to consider
the fact that gravity, water run-off, and the freeze-thaw cycle all want to
move the ground and anything on it downhill. The house itself has a foundation
that is imbedded into the earth to a point that allows the structure to remain
relatively stable. Your mudroom sounds like it is supported on the downhill
side by two posts and its attachment to the house on the uphill side. If the
piers (the concrete footings that support the posts) are not large enough or
deep enough, the natural forces I mentioned will cause them to move downhill.
Here are some things to look for:
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Do the posts stand plumb or are the leaning?
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Is the floor of the mudroom level or does it slope away from the house?
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If the framing under the floor is exposed so that you can see it from below, is
there a joist that is securely attached to the house with bolts?
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Is there a beam that runs on top of the two posts?
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Is it securely attached to the posts and the framing?
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Can you tell if this was originally a deck that was later enclosed to make it a
mudroom?
The most important ingredient in this is the stability of the two posts. If the
piers under them are inadequate, they will slowly move downhill, and no matter
how the mudroom is attached to the house, it will eventually pull away. Often
times a homeowner, or occasionally a builder, will put up a deck that is
supported by pier blocks sitting on top of the ground. Later, this deck is
enclosed and becomes another room, but does not have proper support.
If you find that the posts are not properly supported, you could still fix
this. Check with your local building department for standards on depth and size
of piers that match the climate zone and soil conditions where you live. You
would need to temporarily support the structure (either around one post at a
time or both) so that you could then excavate to the correct depth and size to
be able to pour new larger and or deeper piers. At the same time, you could
jack the mudroom up if you have found that it has dropped out of level.
Although an experience do-it-yourselfer could possibly handle this job, the cost
of purchasing materials for the temporary support, renting house jacks to lift
the room, and the potential for disaster, would suggest that hiring a
contractor is a good idea. Bringing in a structural engineer to inspect and
advise would be even better. It’s a little late, but my advice to others would
be to have a home inspector check out any house before completing a purchase.
If the previous owner was aware of this problem and did not disclose it prior
to the sale, you may have legal recourse.
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